PR News Poll: PR Pros to Use Texting in 2012 Campaigns

It's no secret that mobile technology has already had a major impact on how audiences consume content, interact with brands and even make purchase decisions. And while mobile devices are increasingly being used to scan Twitter feeds and browse Facebook posts, communications opportunities do exist within an activity most of engage in on a daily basis—texting.

In "As Texting Moves From Simple Prompts to Bottom-Line Actions, R U Ready?" (in the 1/23/12 edition of PR News), Scott Van Camp writes that "since smartphones are so ubiquitous, it might be easy for PR pros to overlook mobile as a platform for creating awareness, driving donations and causing sales. But that would be unfortunate. According to mobile experts, communications outreach in this area has never been more fruitful, and will only get better," says Van Camp.

In the last two years, carriers streamlined their phone plans for consumers, while more available bandwidth has made it easy for just about everyone with a mobile phone to receive MMS messages, which organizations to send pictures, video, sound and text, reports Van Camp.

Based on that information, we decided to ask PR News' online community the following question: Will texting be part of your PR outreach in 2012? The response to the poll was encouraging: 55% said yes, they plan to, 32% said no and 13% said they might. While many brands are often seeking to release the shiniest new object in the form of customized mobile apps, it may be worthwhile to consider the opportunities for your brand through texting-based outreach.